Hard-to-Find Leak Sends Homeowner's Water Bill Soaring

Charles knew his home had a water leak somewhere, because his water bill was mounting, but he just couldn't pin down where. It was frustrating and expensive.

Charles had a persistent – and hidden – water leak somewhere in his Capitol Heights, Maryland, home, and he couldn’t find it.

“My mother called him, and he said he had a $15,000 water bill.”

“My grandfather has been saying for the last year that he had a leak in the bathroom or one of the toilets was running or something like that,” said Kenise, Charles’ granddaughter. “He tried to get a plumber in to get the toilets fixed, and we told him, ‘Don’t do that, we’ll maybe get you a new toilet.’ He just kept saying that he didn’t know where the leak was coming from.”

Charles is an older adult with a limited income, and the mounting water bill from the mysterious leak and a potential plumbing repair bill was a daunting prospect. It grew even more so as the amount he owed on his water bill crept up and his ability to pay it shrunk.

“My mother called him, and he said he had a $15,000 water bill,” Kenise said. “She thought he’d said it was $1,500, but the whole time it was actually $15,000.”

In fact, Charles’ bill finally reached a whopping $25,000 before his local water utility terminated his service. At this point, Charles didn’t have any water in his home: no water to wash dishes or clothes, bathe, drink, cook or flush the toilet.

“He didn’t have any money to pay this bill water bill, so they turned off the water,” Kenise said. “But actually, it was good that they turned it off, because that’s how they figured out where the leak was.”

When the water was disconnected, the utility discovered that the leak was outside Charles’ home, near the water meter in the water service line that connected his home to the utility’s water distribution system. Because the break was on Charles’ property, he was responsible for repairing it, and the expected cost was more than $1,100. Amid all this, Charles had a health scare and had to be hospitalized.

Charles’ utility connected him with Steve, one of their customer advocates, who would work with him to resolve his issue. Steve was familiar with HomeServe, because many of the utility’s customers are also HomeServe customers and he had worked with the company’s charitable arm, the HomeServe Cares Foundation, before. The Foundation provides pro bono repairs that impact health, safety, sanitation and quality of life for qualifying homeowners.

The Foundation dispatched plumbers from the PHI Group to repair Charles’ water line and restore his water service at no cost to him.

“I called back (the plumber), and they said it was being paid through HomeServe and we didn’t have to pay anything,” Kenise. “They fixed it, and the water was turned back on Saturday, and he got out of the hospital Sunday. He’s doing better.”

Charles is now resting comfortably at home – with water service, thanks to the Foundation.